Soul Food Celebration: Two festivals combine to support Black-owned businesses in Maryland

BALTIMORE –– The Vegan SoulFest x We Give Black Fest concluded Sunday.

The two festivals combined to generate one particular jam-packed occasion at West Covington Park in South Baltimore.

“(It is) a good partnership in bringing two worlds jointly,” Vegan Soul Fest Co-Founder Naijha Wright-Brown mentioned.

Vegan SoulFest is a staple in Baltimore.

But the competition was place on pause for two several years since of the coronavirus pandemic.

It returned this year for its seventh once-a-year function with about 40 vegan food items vendors.

We Give Black Fest is a model-new pageant dedicated to supporting Black-owned organizations.

“August is Black Philanthropy Thirty day period as perfectly as Black Organization Thirty day period,” We Give Black Fest Founder Jamye Wooten stated. “So, we considered it was a good way to tie equally of them alongside one another.”

WJZ is the happy media sponsor of We Give Black Fest, which showcased a panel discussion with anchor Vic Carter and Torrey Smith.

The We Give Black Fest was place on by an business named CLLCTIVLY.

Jamye Wooten, its founder and CEO, mentioned Black-led organizations and Black-owned firms struggle to get help.

“This is an prospect to give them a platform so they’re visible,” Wooten said. “So that people that never know about them can appear and help them and make investments in them the way we want them to survive and thrive in this article in Baltimore.”

We Give Black Fest highlighted a weekend of providing, increasing hundreds of thousands of pounds to assistance the mission driving the competition.

The founders of both of those festivals hope that all people who arrived out over the weekend will get the time to spread consciousness for both organizations.

“We are carrying out a terrific factor and we want to be in a position to present this to all socioeconomic backgrounds,” Wright-Brown stated. “So, we will need the assistance of anybody that ought to be finding involved.”

The organizers of each festivals said as quickly as this year’s event finishes, they will commence planning for next year’s festivities.